"All memories and thoughts are the union of emptiness and knowing, the Mind.Without attachment, self-liberating, like a snake in a knot.Through the qualities of meditating in that way,Mental obscurations are purified and the dharmakaya is attained."

From my notes on these empowerments, Garchen Rinpoche said that doing one of these deity practices is doing them all. Keeping the committment to one is honoring them all. I didn't write down the samayas, what I remember is to repeat the mantra everyday as far as you are able, and generate love and compassion.Maybe someone else has better notes.

Lhasa wrote:From my notes on these empowerments, Garchen Rinpoche said that doing one of these deity practices is doing them all. Keeping the committment to one is honoring them all. I didn't write down the samayas, what I remember is to repeat the mantra everyday as far as you are able, and generate love and compassion.Maybe someone else has better notes.

Each of the fourteen deities' mantras? Or just one of them?

Equanimity is the ground. Love is the moisture. Compassion is the seed. Bodhicitta is the result.

"All memories and thoughts are the union of emptiness and knowing, the Mind.Without attachment, self-liberating, like a snake in a knot.Through the qualities of meditating in that way,Mental obscurations are purified and the dharmakaya is attained."

Lhasa wrote:From my notes on these empowerments, Garchen Rinpoche said that doing one of these deity practices is doing them all. Keeping the committment to one is honoring them all. I didn't write down the samayas, what I remember is to repeat the mantra everyday as far as you are able, and generate love and compassion.Maybe someone else has better notes.

Each of the fourteen deities' mantras? Or just one of them?

It is up to you which one's you want to practice. If you choose just one, that meets your committment for all of them.

Karma Dorje wrote:The answer from the Garchen Institute is unambiguous and as follows (emphasis added):

We were told the following by Garchen Rinpoche for empowerments that Garchen Institute has put on Ustream. The recordings can be included as well as the livestream. It is not my impression that these apply to all empowerments available online, but for the ones he’s approved. Other lamas may have different requirements and it is important to follow the instructions of the Lama giving the empowerments.

Hello Everyone,

We have received several inquiries asking if one actually receives the empowerment if done by streaming, and following is Rinpoche’s reply:

“The touching of the vase to the crown of the head is the outer empowerment. The inner empowerment is to visualize yourself as the deity. The real empowerment is to realize the nature of your mind.“When you cultivate bodhicitta, that is the real deity, and when you do this, that is when you actually receive the empowerment over the internet.“If you live near the temple and think, ‘Oh, I don’t need to go to the temple; I can just receive the empowerment over the internet,’ that is not the right motivation. If you have the opportunity to come to the temple, then you should come.

“If you don't live nearby and cannot come, but with all your heart would like to, that is the right motivation for receiving the empowerment over the internet.”

May all be auspicious!

I am sorry Karma Dorje, but I can't see Rinpoche or Garchen Institute is mentioning recordings anywhere?

/magnus

"To reject practice by saying, 'it is conceptual!' is the path of fools. A tendency of the inexperienced and something to be avoided."- Longchenpa

Karma Dorje wrote:The answer from the Garchen Institute is unambiguous and as follows (emphasis added):

We were told the following by Garchen Rinpoche for empowerments that Garchen Institute has put on Ustream. The recordings can be included as well as the livestream. It is not my impression that these apply to all empowerments available online, but for the ones he’s approved. Other lamas may have different requirements and it is important to follow the instructions of the Lama giving the empowerments.

Hello Everyone,

We have received several inquiries asking if one actually receives the empowerment if done by streaming, and following is Rinpoche’s reply:

“The touching of the vase to the crown of the head is the outer empowerment. The inner empowerment is to visualize yourself as the deity. The real empowerment is to realize the nature of your mind.“When you cultivate bodhicitta, that is the real deity, and when you do this, that is when you actually receive the empowerment over the internet.“If you live near the temple and think, ‘Oh, I don’t need to go to the temple; I can just receive the empowerment over the internet,’ that is not the right motivation. If you have the opportunity to come to the temple, then you should come.

“If you don't live nearby and cannot come, but with all your heart would like to, that is the right motivation for receiving the empowerment over the internet.”

May all be auspicious!

I am sorry Karma Dorje, but I can't see Rinpoche or Garchen Institute is mentioning recordings anywhere?

/magnus

I bolded the relevant line: The recordings can be included as well as the livestream. Everything after the colon on the first line is from Amy at Garchen Institute.

Lhasa wrote:From my notes on these empowerments, Garchen Rinpoche said that doing one of these deity practices is doing them all. Keeping the commitment to one is honoring them all. I didn't write down the samayas, what I remember is to repeat the mantra everyday as far as you are able, and generate love and compassion.Maybe someone else has better notes.

Having taken several empowerments and attended several teachings with Garchen Rinpoche, both in person and via webcast, I can tell you that his message is quite consistent.

All yidam deities are essentially the same. That is, they are the enlightened manifestation of wisdom & compassion. Thus accomplishing one accomplishes them all.

As for the samayas, Rinpoche usually doesn't go into too many details about the branches, but almost always explains that the root samaya is to cultivate love & bodhicitta, and to maintain harmony amongst the Sangha (which includes your guru, you, and your fellow practitioners who took empowerment with you).

Do the practice to the best of your ability, both in quality and frequency. Visualizing the seed-syllable on a lotus seat is sufficient if you have trouble holding the image of the deity in your mind's eye. That said, Rinpoche has taken to suggesting that one uses a picture or thangka of the deity as a support for visualization. Participants close their eyes, opening them and looking directly at the yidam during the empowerment (sometimes more than once).

IIRC, the resident lama(s) at Gar Drölma initially requested that Rinpoche bestow 100 deity empowerments, and he gave these 13, saying they were the most important for students of the Drikung lineage to practice. In case anyone isn't familiar with Achi Chökyi Drölma, she is a manifestation of Tara, the great grandmother of Lord Jigten Sumgön (who founded the lineage), and is both a Dakini and an Enlightened Protector.

"The Sutras, Tantras, and Philosophical Scriptures are great in number. However life is short, and intelligence is limited, so it's hard to cover them completely. You may know a lot, but if you don't put it into practice, it's like dying of thirst on the shore of a great lake. Likewise, it happens that a common corpse is found in the bed of a great scholar." ~ Karma Chagme

2. S.O.L.Acronym for the words of "Shit Out of Luck." It is used in reference to the state of having run out of all other options, wherein the remaining situation is less than desirable.I didn't finish university, had a child out of wedlock, possess little to no marketable skills... Sounds like I am S.O.L.!

and those who want to but havent received or downloaded these 13 precious empowerments are SOL because ustream is gonna delete them within a month.

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

or that is what i heard in one of Garchen institutes email that the recordings will be deleted from a month from their upload date. although im not sure if this is applies to the old recordings before this new custom of Ustream.

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

Motova wrote:Is this for anyone or does one need to have completed Ngondro?

answer: ... for anyone...

Thank you.

This is truly wonderful.

The way I came upon this thread has led me to believe this is valid, along with somethings that came after a certain video.

So lets say I got the Green Tara initiation, what am I eligible to practice? Anything Green Tara? For example can I practice the sadhana found in Skillful Grace - Tara Practice for our Times by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and Trulshik Adeu Rinpoche?

Motova wrote:Is this for anyone or does one need to have completed Ngondro?

answer: ... for anyone...

Thank you.

This is truly wonderful.

The way I came upon this thread has led me to believe this is valid, along with somethings that came after a certain video.

So lets say I got the Green Tara initiation, what am I eligible to practice? Anything Green Tara? For example can I practice the sadhana found in Skillful Grace - Tara Practice for our Times by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and Trulshik Adeu Rinpoche?

You can practice any Tara text you have received a lung (ritual reading) for. Otherwise you can just do the visualisation and the mantra (which is the most "important" bit of any sadhana anyway),

that might be somewhat the traditional way of thinking about it. but i have been to retreats where we dont separately receive lung and just practice the sadhana with the lama.

personally i would just practice the sadhana you like if you have the empowerment and not care about little details like lung. its good to have it but if you feel strong connection with a practice, i think it would be stupid to not to practice it even if you dont have the lung.

that said, i think people act like its dangerous or wrong or something to practice a text if you dont have the lung. im sure that the lung brings blessing of the lineage more into the practice but people act like practicing a sadhana which you dont have lung for is somehow forbidden is simply stupid.

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

KonchokZoepa wrote:that might be somewhat the traditional way of thinking about it.

That is the common way to think about it.

...but i have been to retreats where we dont separately receive lung and just practice the sadhana with the lama.

Yes, you can practice with a lama or somebody that has received the lung, but to take the text and practice by yourself you need the lung.

personally i would just practice the sadhana you like if you have the empowerment and not care about little details like lung. its good to have it but if you feel strong connection with a practice, i think it would be stupid to not to practice it even if you dont have the lung.

So all those lineage masters that practiced and passed on the teachings in this manner are stupid and you are smart. That's nice to hear.

that said, i think people act like its dangerous or wrong or something to practice a text if you dont have the lung. im sure that the lung brings blessing of the lineage more into the practice but people act like practicing a sadhana which you dont have lung for is somehow forbidden is simply stupid.

Maybe in your little self-centred world it is stupid, but I think I will go with what my (and others) teachers say and not some complete stranger on an internet forum. During the Vajrakilaya empowerment that Garchen Rinpoche gave he made/asked Kenpo Samdup give the lung for the text too (so that people could practice). You reckon he is stupid too?

KonchokZoepa wrote:that might be somewhat the traditional way of thinking about it.

That is the common way to think about it.

yes somewhat.

...but i have been to retreats where we dont separately receive lung and just practice the sadhana with the lama.

Yes, you can practice with a lama or

somebody that has received the lung, but to take the text and practice by yourself you need the lung.

oh i did not receive lung for my achi sadhana but i believe im authorized to practice it anyway. and my sangha friends intentionally gave me with effort an english version of this sadhana so i could practice it, even when i dont have lung.

personally i would just practice the sadhana you like if you have the empowerment and not care about little details like lung. its good to have it but if you feel strong connection with a practice, i think it would be stupid to not to practice it even if you dont have the lung.

So all those lineage masters that practiced and passed on the teachings in this manner are stupid and you are smart. That's nice to hear.

no i think there is real and precious value in lungs, just that it is not possible for all the tibetan lamas to go and give lung to every sadhana every disciple wants to receive a lung to. what i think is stupid, is to stick to some stupid belief that you need an ''authorization'' to practice the sadhana. the empowerment does that, what the lung does is transfer the realization and blessing of the lineage and the lama to the practice that the lama is giving the lung for, so yes it is very precious but not necessary to engage in practice.in example, the next retreat im attending, there are chöd teachings and practices, yet we dont know if there will be chöd initiation or lung. The Lama decides if we need that. so we can come to a conclusion that it is not like '' if you do not have lung you are not authorized to practice the text, it is strictly forbidden '', who came up with this thought and why?

that said, i think people act like its dangerous or wrong or something to practice a text if you dont have the lung. im sure that the lung brings blessing of the lineage more into the practice but people act like practicing a sadhana which you dont have lung for is somehow forbidden is simply stupid.

Maybe in your little self-centred world it is stupid, but I think I will go with what my (and others) teachers say and not some complete stranger on an internet forum. During the Vajrakilaya empowerment that Garchen Rinpoche gave he made/asked Kenpo Samdup give the lung for the text too (so that people could practice). You reckon he is stupid too?

no i dont reckon he is stupid. you surely seem to know Garchen Rinpoche's true intentions on parting the lung to people. '' so that people could practice the text '', did Garchen Rinpoche say actually that with those words,intention and meaning?Why is there a Vajrakilaya sadhana and hundreds of other sadhanas on many websites, like vimalatreasures, namsebangdzo, samye ling, garchens website, vajrapub etc many other websites open for purchase without any reservation. they do not restrict them for only to those that have received lung or initiation to a particular sadhana. lets not take this too far though, initiation is necessary to practice the deity, but i dont believe lung is. its a bonus but not a prerequisite. i sent an inquiry to Garchens website after the vajrayogini empowerment in moscow and asked about the sadhanas. they offered to ask the resident lama to give me lung to the long sadhana so i could practice it, its a restricted for those only who have initiation. couple months later they sent me an email telling me that the lama said i dont need lung, i can practice the sadhana. what im saying why official stores like namsebangdzo in example has many sadhanas available without restriction, im somewhat sure its because the lamas want the sadhanas to be without restriction.as to conclude this an answer to the person that started this conv, if the sadhana isnt restricted and you can get it without lying or deceiving anyone or it is offered you i would go for it.

people seem to be blinded and follow strictly dogmatic viewpoint when considering the traditional way of things. this is not last centurys tibet where there is a lama around every corner to bestow the blessings. and i dont know this but why is lung considered an authorization over the initiation when it function is more of a blessing.

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

and gregg, if you continue with your passive aggressive behavior i will not reply to your post.

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….